Day of carnage leaves 12 dead throughout Iraq

People inspect the aftermath of a car bomb explosion at a commercial street in al-Ameen district in southeastern Baghdad, Iraq, on March 16, 2014.

Tue Apr 8, 2014 4:13PM GMT

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Iraqi security and hospital officials say 12 civilians have been killed in separate car bomb attacks and shooting incidents across the country.

On Tuesday, unidentified gunmen fatally shot six members of the same family inside their home on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul, which is located 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of the capital Baghdad.
Elsewhere, a policeman was killed when an explosives-laden car went off at a checkpoint in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, situated 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad.
Attacks were also carried out in the cities of Baiji and Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (86 miles) northwest of Baghdad, claiming five more lives.
Meanwhile, security forces killed 25 al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in an ambush southwest of Baghdad on Tuesday.
Baghdad’s security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan said the terrorists were planning to attack an army base that they had attempted to hit last week.
Iraq is currently experiencing its deadliest cycle of violence with Anbar Province viewed as the epicenter of the mounting al-Qaeda-linked militancy that has gripped the country’s west over the past few months.
Anbar plunged into violence in December 2013 after the army removed an anti-government protest camp in Ramadi. Authorities said the camp was used as “headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda.” The bloodshed later spread to the nearby city of Fallujah.
Experts and politicians say terrorist groups such as the ISIL are coming to Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to undermine security in the country.
Baghdad blames Riyadh for the chaos, saying the Saudi regime is funding and arming militants fighting against government forces in western Iraq.
The surge in violence has left over 2,400 people dead in Iraq so far this year.
MP/PR/SL